The publisher swears this massive tome weighs a mere 1.5 pounds, so maybe it’s the exhaustive work between the covers that exhausts us every time we lift it. And lift it often we do, for inside is the most complete (to date) collection of the master’s work done for Vogue and VanityFair. For 14 years, Steichen was the magazines’ principal photographer, capturing the biggest names in film, dance, opera, politics, literature, high fashion and sports with his lens. Editor William Ewing brings iconic images into focus here . . . Think of those haunting visions of Garbo and Chaplin, Cooper and Swanson, plus hundreds of others culled from an archive of more than 2,000 original prints. The book is expensive but worth every cent. We suggest not filling the tank next week and instead filling your mind and library with words and pictures that will fuel your imagination and lift your hearts far longer than any premium octane.

DVD QUICK PICKS

Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection (Fox Home Entertainment) and The Carmen Miranda Collection (Fox Home Entertainment)

Twentieth Century Fox is on a roll with two new terrific box sets. Matinee Idol, a follow-up to the previous Tyrone Power set released a couple of years ago showcasing his swashbuckling efforts, is a doozy. And The Carmen Miranda Collection follows on the (high) heels of Fox’s Alice Faye Collection.

Let’s start with the lady. The original coochy-coochy girl was born in a small town in northern Portugal, became a Samba superstar in Brazil, making 10 films there before being whisked off to Broadway by the Brothers Shubert. From New York it was but a short hop to Hollywood and worldwide recognition.

This set preserves the Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat’s South American charm and manic energy. Among the gems are The Gang’s All Here, proving that psychedelic color existed way before the ’60s; Greenwich Village, with fast peeks at future celebs such as Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Judy Holliday; and Doll Face, based on a script by Louise Hovick, better known as Gypsy Rose Lee.

To be sure, Fox’s musicals had neither the edge of Warner Brothers’ nor the ultra-glamour of Metro’s, yet for sheer exuberant charm, they can’t be beat. Alice Faye, Phil Baker, Don Ameche, William Bendix, Vivian Blaine and Perry Como surround La Miranda in these films, but no one can outshine her. And no one can belt out “Chicka-Chicka Boom” better than the Brazilian Bombshell.

Tyrone Power made 52 movies, and appeared in a wide variety of radio and stage work. He died tragically in his mid-40s and at the height of his career, his haunted, almost too pretty looks, all but hiding a formidable talent. While this new collection only hints at the strength and genius to come in such films as NightmareAlley, The Sun Also Rises and Witness for the Prosecution, these earlier films are also a fair example of the middle-of-the-road Fox releases before and after the Second World War – popular, carefully constructed illustrations of mass entertainment and escapism. The collection contains 10 films Power made between 1938-1951 as a Fox contract player, and his steady rise to film stardom is more than apparent here. Each film suggests a decided growth in Power’s talent, from supporting player in Girls Dormitory to Loretta Young’s love interest in three fluffy comedies – Love is News, Cafe Metropole and Second Honeymoon. Following his success with the proto-noir Johnny Apollo, he landed This Above All, an epic wartime romance then Daytime Wife, a flick that teams Power with Linda Darnell, who’s stunningly beautiful in her first leading role. In Luck of the Irish, a whimsical leprechaun played by Cecil Kellaway, helps Power woo Anne Baxter. In That Wonderful Urge, Power joins Gene Tierney for romance, and finally, he teams with Ann Blyth for the multi-period costume drama I’ll Never Forget You. Power died of a heart attack in 1958, and few performers today could even think of eclipsing – or even equaling – his style, good looks or talent.